Explore the Role of Community Relations in Today’s Cable Industry during ACC’s Feb. 23 Online Chat

Company restructuring, franchising law modification, and technological advances in the cable industry over the past few years have had an impact on the role of community relations. ACC has invited several top cable communicators to discuss how community relations help them achieve company goals in today’s environment during its next online chat on Wednesday, February 23 from 2:00 – 3:00 pm EST. All cable communicators are encouraged to participate in this chat and share their experiences and successes with the changing role of community relations in cable communications.

If you have a question that you would like to ask the experts but will not be able to participate in the live chat, please email Michelle Butler at mbutler@cablecommunicators.org your question. Following the event, ACC will post a transcript of the chat in the members-only section of its Web site.

Many cable industry companies communications’ efforts have incorporated Twitter, and these companies “tweet” on a regular basis to improve brand positioning, gain better awareness for products and services, promote upcoming events or utilize it as a customer service tool. In a recent article by Jacob Share, founder and senior vice president, Share Media Select, he reviewed seven time saving Twitter tools that may help improve your communication efforts.

Auto Thanks: http://fbparis.com/autothanks/, This tool thanks others for their retweets and #FollowFriday. It will make you look well-mannered and refined without having to actually send each individual retweeter a thank you. The application works by providing a simple acknowledgment of their retreat over a 24-hour period.

Follow Friday: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23followfriday, Similar to Auto Thanks above, this twitter application Tweets the names of Twitter users you'd like others to follow and tag it with #FollowFriday and/or #FF. Just as Auto Thanks scans for 24 hours, Follow Friday scans for relevant tweets over the past seven days.

Formulists: http://formulists.com/ Organize groups of people on Twitter into smart, auto-updating lists. Use it to filter and network with people based on location/bio keywords, Twitter activity, number of followers and more. This application is used to categorize your Twitter friends quickly and easily, it enables you to follow the right groups of people at the right times in your schedule.

InboxCleaner: http://inboxcleaner.com/ Clean your Twitter inbox quickly and easily using InboxCleaner. The free version of the application deletes up to 25 unwanted or spam direct messages per day, including copies of the direct messages you send. It is especially helpful for those who use Auto Follow or similar applications.

Only the Links: http://onlythelinks.com/#/ This a simple Twitter client focused on only showing Tweets with links and when appropriate, with the content embedded. It is an ideal tool if Twitter has become a main source of shared links, replacing you RSS feed reader. Use it to point to one of your Twitter lists (public or private) and view trends without reading through conversations and quotes.

Tweriod: http://www.tweriod.com/ An application that will analyze your followers' streams, work out when they are online the most and let you know the best time to post your tweets! This tool is especially useful if you tweet across multiple time zones and countries. Upon use, it can take up to 24 hours to provide a final report.

Tweet Memo: http://www.tmemo.me/ This Twitter based reminder tool sends you a reminder at the date and time you set. It allows you to make Twitter your personal reminder service. It can direct message you for private reminders and you can reply to it publicly when all of your followers should see the reminder also.

Okay, but how do I utilize these tools for my communications efforts? Here is one example. Use Formulist to create a Twitter list of cable bloggers. Then use Tweriod to learn when they are most likely to be on Twitter. Next, use Only the Links to view what they are sharing, share between each other and your tweets they share. Then using Tweet Memo, as a reminder to use Auto Thanks and Follow Friday to appreciate those who share your tweets. Finally, use InboxCleaner to daily delete unwanted messages. You could use Tweet Memo again as a reminder to use this tool.

This is part of a continuing series of short articles that will examine social media and the Internet's impact on communications. For additional information on social media, visit the FAQs about Social Media section of the ACC Web site.

Every year an estimated 800,000 children are reported as missing in the United States. In partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), Comcast launched Missing Kids On Demand and online at xfinity.com/news/missingkids. This first-of-its-kind public service initiative will make information about missing children available to millions of Comcast video customers and will support efforts by law enforcement across the country to bring missing children home.

Comcast’s Missing Kids On Demand and online features 20 video profiles chronicling missing child cases from across the nation. Each video provides relevant details about the child’s case, including the name of the missing child, city of the disappearance, possible whereabouts, likely abductors and photos. In cases where the child has been missing for a long period, an age progressed photo showing what he or she may look like at a more recent age will also be available. In addition, during the airing of each profile, the NCMEC’s hotline 800-THE-LOST and Web site www.missingkids.com will be displayed on the bottom of the profile to encourage viewers to report tips. Areas carrying the videos include Atlanta; Baltimore; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Chicago; Denver; Houston; Indianapolis; Little Rock; Memphis; Minneapolis; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Portland, Ore.; Richmond, Va.; San Francisco; Seattle; South Florida and Washington, DC.

This public service initiative is modeled after Comcast’s Police Blotter On Demand, which shows profiles of local “Most Wanted” criminals and was created in partnership with local law enforcement authorities. Since its launch in November 2006, Police Blotter On Demand has profiled more than 1,400 fugitives and has led to more than 90 criminal captures.

Now is the best time to encourage your peers to join ACC. The association has instituted a “test drive” trial membership initiative that allows prospective members to participate in the association’s various programs and professional development activities on a trial basis for six months free and without further obligation.

With the “test drive” membership, prospective members can join the organization without paying any up-front fees, and experience all the benefits ACC has to offer, including a comprehensive Web site, online chats, webinars and ACC Briefs on key topics of interest for six months. To continue benefits and access to ACC programs after the trial period ends, new members simply pay half of the first year’s dues, or $100 to complete the year. The “test drive” program has been expanded and now runs through December 31, 2011. For more information, check out the registration form online or contact Michelle Butler at mbutler@cablecommunicators.org or 202-222-2372.

Florida has joined Indiana, Louisiana and Oregon in adopting Discovery Education’s digital science service as the core instructional resource for elementary instruction. These approvals, through state textbook adoption processes, empower educators with dynamic digital resources that meet the evolving learning styles of today’s students. The Discovery Education Techbook leverages children’s natural interest in technology to ignite a love of science and meets President Obama’s challenge in his State of the Union address for the country to connect students to the future with dynamic, engaging instructional resources like digital textbooks.

Intended to replace traditional textbooks as the new primary instructional resource for elementary schools, each edition of the Discovery Education Techbook series is built to address individual state science standards and features vivid digital content such as videos, colorful text passages and interactive simulations. The series include assessment components, recommendations for individualized resources that reinforce classroom instruction and other teacher resources. Finally the Discovery Education Science Techbook is a substantially less expensive option per student than textbooks. For more information about the Discovery Education Science Techbook, visit www.discoveryeducation.com or call 800-323-9084.

Are you interested in connecting with fellow cable communicators? ACC needs volunteers for our FORUM 2011, 2011 Beacon Award and ACC Board Committees. Get involved and help mold ACC programs to meet the needs of cable communicators.

FORUM Committee Members will help determine the agenda and promote FORUM 2011 to the industry. Beacon Award volunteers manage the complete entry process from promotion to judging to the Beacon Awards Gala. Board Committees develop association programs and help members get connected to one another.

For more information on the committees, go to ACC’s Web site. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact ACC by emailing sjones@cablecommunicators.org or calling 800-210-3396. You can also print out a volunteer form and fax it to ACC at 202-222-2371.

ACC has entered into a cooperative agreement with Ragan Communications to enable ACC members to receive a $200 discount off the registration fee for Ragan’s Social Media for PR and Corporate Communications Conference in Las Vegas from February 14-16 on the UNLV campus. This educational event will focus on engaging customers, employees and the media in a digital world.

If you work in PR, internal communications, media relations, marketing or advertising, then you know social media has re-defined customer service, employee networking and collaboration, project management, corporate messaging, nonprofit fund-raising, public service, investor relations and consumer community-building. It is revolutionizing our companies, our clients and the profession. As an ACC member, you will benefit from a special, reduced registration rate of just $995. This is $200 off the standard registration price. For additional information and to receive this special ACC member discount, you must use this link to register.